by Declan Schuster

Loveisintheair is trending in the right direction and jockey Hugh Bowman hopes John Size’s three-year-old gelding can make further headway when he lines up in the Class 4 The France Galop Cup Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (7 May).

Across three starts, the chestnut has finished sixth, fifth and most recently third, and Bowman – a winner of 58 races in Hong Kong this season – has faith the youngster possesses the right tools to furnish into a quality racer and ascend the city’s handicap.

by Leo Schlink

Progressive four-year-old Bundle Award might have earned a start at Group 1 level after displaying impressive staying talent with victory in the HK$4.2 million G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap (2400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (4 May) for trainer John Size and jockey Zac Purton.

Triumphant at 1400m and 1800m at Sha Tin this year, Bundle Award (123lb) handled the rise to 2400m with aplomb to defeat Noisy Boy (121lb) by a short head in 2m 29.72s after a stirring battle, with Winning Dragon (125lb) third, three-quarters of a length away.

Happy Valley Selections
(Wednesday, May 07, 2025)

Race 1: #5 Tradition, #8 Harry’s Hero, #2 Podium, #3 The Khan
Race 2: #12 Ace Talent, #3 Day Day Victory, #4 Ragnarr, #6 Ruby Sailing
Race 3: #11 Perfect Pairing, #3 Serangoon, #8 Management Folks, #6 Rosewood Fleetfoot
Race 4: #2 Goko Win, #4 Majestic Delight, #3 Smart Fighter, #9 Good Prospect
Race 5: #4 Mighty Commander, #10 Amazing Award, #1 Setanta, #5 Flying Wrote

Desert Flower won Sunday’s Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse in Britain to complete an unprecedented trans-Atlantic sweep of four classic races for Godolphin Racing in less than 48 hours.

On Friday, Godolphin’s Good Cheer won the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. On Saturday, the stable’s Ruling Court won the Group 1 English 2000 Guineas more than eight hours before Sovereignty won the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Godolphin is owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai.

After racing on the inside for the first mile and rallying wide through the stretch, the improving colt Redentor won his first Grade 1 race in Sunday’s $3.9 million spring running of the Tenno Sho at Kyoto Racecourse in Japan for his fourth win in his last five starts.

Ridden by Damian Lane, Redentor was sixth or seventh for the first mile of the two-mile race, stalking the pace. On the backstretch for the final time, Lane moved Redentor off the inside and closer to the front.

Ruling Court pulled a rare Guineas double when capturing the English 2000 Guineas on Saturday at Newmarket, his first start since an overwhelming victory at Meydan Racecourse in the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas – and looked like a special horse doing it.

Held near the back of the field in the straight-mile Guineas, Ruling Court, a Godolphin homebred, cruised into contention with about three furlongs to run before deploying superior acceleration in the penultimate furlong that winged him to the lead and on to victory.

The only thing that has kept the Japanese colt Redentor from a four-race winning streak since June was a second in the Group 1 Japanese St. Leger last October.

Redentor is a distance specialist, which makes him the favorite to win the spring running of the Grade 1 Tenno Sho at two miles at Kyoto Racecourse in Japan on Sunday.

Paul Lally: 
R1 1-6-4-9 
R2 2-5-11-12 
R3 9-1-4-7 
R4 5-4-6-8 
R5 2-6-9-5 
R6 8-3-7-2 
R7 3-6-11-13 
R8 6-4-2-5 
R9 5-1-4-9 
R10 9-11-2-7 
R11 2-1-9-7 
Best Bet R9 N5 Dazzling Fit 
Longshot R3 N9 Team Team Folks 
Play R6  QQP 3-7-8 

A lot has changed for the Australian-bred 3-year-old Statuario since he finished 14th of 15 in the Group 1 Australian Guineas at a mile at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on March 1.

Three weeks later, he was a good third in the Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes at about 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley and then won the longest race of his career in a minor stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Caulfield on April 5.

The results in longer races have made Statuario an early 2-1 favorite for Friday’s Group 1 South Australian Derby at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide.